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Red Wings 101 provides 24/7 obsessive sports coverage of the Detroit Red Wings as a part of Sports Media 101. For news,
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Red Wings’ Owners Apologize to Fans

In light of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman issuing an apology at his press conference Wednesday, Mike and Marian Ilitch have followed suit.

The owners of the Detroit Red Wings sent the following letter to all season ticket holders. The letter is also on the team website.

Dear Red Wings Fans,

In our now 30 years of owning the Red Wings franchise, we have experienced many ups and downs. No situation is more frustrating, though, than working through the process of establishing a new collective bargaining agreement. We join the rest of our organization today in thanking fans of Hockeytown for your patience over the last few months.

We are sorry for the delay in starting the season and the unfortunate public nature of the negotiations. Thankfully, with this new deal, we will be assured of a settled labor environment for many years to come.

We recognize that no team excels like this one has without incredible fan support. And we understand the special bond that has been formed over the years: we do not take lightly our responsibility as owners.

Thank you for being a part of our team. We look forward to delivering another memorable season of Red Wings hockey.

EDITOR'S THOUGHTS: Regardless of what people say about Bettman or the rest of the owners, they did the right thing by apologizing. I realize that we won't get games back or anything like that, but regardless of the situation, apologizing was the right thing to do.